Circle of Song to Sing Requiem for the Living December 14 at the Barre Town Hall at 7 pm
On Saturday, December 14 at 7pm, the Circle of Song will be performing Dan Forrest’s Requiem for the Living.
Requiem for the Living, a choral composition in five movements, was completed in 2013, The Latin text that Forrest set combines sections from the Requiem with biblical texts from Ecclesiastes – (Vanity of Vanities, All is Meaningless) and the Book of Job (the problem of evil).
Requiem for the Living is an extended setting of the Requiem, a mass for the dead in the Catholic Church. Forrest took some parts from the Requiem mass, however arranged in different order, and added a movement, Vanitas Vanitatum, as the second movement. The five movements are Introit- Kyrie, Vanitas Vanitatum, Agnus Dei, Sanctus, and Lux Aeterna.
The first movement uses the traditional text Introit and Kyrie from the Requiem. The second movement deals with the transience of everything living. The third movement is Agnus Dei, normally found towards the end of a Requiem, and requesting the Lamb of God to grant mercy and eternal rest. The fourth movement is Sanctus. The text "Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua" (Heaven and Earth are full of your glory) is set to music inspired by images taken from the Hubble Space Telescope, and the imagination of a city full of life. The final movement, Lux Aeterna (Eternal light) also includes text from the Gospel of Matthew. "Come unto me, all ye that labour"
In the Circle of Song performance of Requiem for the Living, solos will be performed by Karen Guertin, Marna Mucha, Anne Kneeland, Nancy Afonso, Mark Doyle and Jennifer Williams.
Under the direction of the COS pianist, Cailan McClure, “Aint a That Good News” and Ave Maria will also be sung.
If you are interested in joining Circle of Song, contact Julie Rawson, director, at julie@mhof.net, (978) 257-1192, or show up at the Barre Town Hall, 2 Exchange Street, Barre, on Thursday, January 16 at 7 pm.